Local governance in multi-organisational settings, the ‘Flemish way’

1. Local governance in multi-organisational settings, the ‘Flemish way’ Filip De Rynck

2. Focus on… Local multi-organisational governance • Some general trends and variables explaining convergence / divergence • Impact on local government: towards ‘government by arrangements’ ? • Network analysis of central – local relations within those governance arrangements

3. Local multi-organisational settings • Multi-organisational settings on local level: • Public – public arrangements • horizontal intermunicipal cooperation • arrangements on multilevel base (with central government) • Public – private arrangements • horizontal and multilevel • Central government, a mix of roles: • Meta-governor: setting the legal and organisational stage (imposed or incentives) • Actor in arrangements due to local competencies of central government • Absent in the arrangement but crucial for the arrangement (centralisation of decisions)

4. Logo’s of local arrangements in a small rural area WaterschapBurggravenstroom HulpverleningszoneBrandweer Meetjesland SIT Meetjesland SIT Zomergem …

6. Trends and variables • Trends: • Sharp increase, increase of organisation differentiation • Sectoral profileration • Convergent variables: • Decentralisation and task complexity • Presssure on local capacity and management • Meta-governance of central government: institutions imposed and/or central incentives • Institutional differentiation in policy domains due to central regulation • Impact of European programmes and projects

7. Trends and variables • Divergent variables: • Rural or city-regional contexts • Role of the province as intermediary or broker: strong in rural areas, weak in city-regions • Broker role of existing ‘holistic’ arrangements • Leadership of arrangements (leading mayors, some key public officials) • Trust and sense of urgency

8. First findings on impact • Research on those arrangements: • Central role of politicians AND public officials • Weak mandates: outcome of arrangements • Marginal role of top managers in government • Monopoly of information in departments • Different settings, different accountability ‘systems’ and no system in local government

9. Impact on local government • From autonomy to growing ‘heteronomy’ • All those arrangements have their own institutional features in sets of different policy cycles with their own pace and timing in which local government is engaged • Towards ‘virtual’ government or ‘government by arrangements’ ? • Management at the border: ‘boundary management’

12. Accountability • Bilateral accountability in arrangements: • Formal mandates and mandates-in-action • Streams of information from arrangements to local government actors • Quality, formal and informal • Streams of information from those actors in their local government • Active (giving information) and passive (asked to give information) • Systems of control, feedback in the local government • Budgetary cycle, annual reports… • Multilateral accountability of arrangements: • To the wider environment, to the public in general • Impact of accountability practices on the power relations in local government (council, executive, mayor, public servants)

13. Central – local dynamics in those arrangements • New PhD (Joris Voets): • applying network analysis to central – local relations in city-regional multi-organisational arrangements for wicked problems in the field of spatial planning • Canal zone Ghent • Parkbos (‘Park Woods’) Ghent • reconstructing policy processes in and through those arrangements and how those arrangements are managed • how do central – local relations function in policy processes ?

14. Conceptual framework • Resource dependencies • Resources and resource mix, types of resource dependencies, balance of dependencies in time • Power • Power sources, distribution and use of power (over, to and for) • Multi-actor • Actor properties (needs, interests, attitudes,…) and coalitions • Policy process • Trigger, substance, patterns of interaction, rules, trust • Network management • Management activities (game and network level), managers and management roles

15. IGR revisited • Central-local relations • Coalition building through central-local divide • There are no ‘local’ issues in Flanders • Political localism in the arena of the cabinets • Provinces as broker, intermediate • Horizontal relations • Interdependency between horizontal and vertical relations • Strategy towards central government has an impact on relations between local governments

16. IGR - revisited • Politico-administrative relations • Policy process is the outcome of ambitions of bureaucrats (advocacy coalitions) • Political and administrative official highly intertwined • Partitocracy blurs distinction • A set of management roles and types • Intra-governmental relations • Very fragmented central government: policy networks within the central government • Autonomous roles and strategies of departments and field services • Impact of intra-governmental changes on policy process, strategy and management